Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 436 Sisters work together, the Jia family shows signs of success

When Miaoyu approached, she heard a burst of shouting and cursing, and her mind was filled with confusion.

She had heard that the three sisters of the Jia family had a low status in the Jia family. Fearing that they would be punished, Miaoyu unknowingly quickened her pace.

When she opened the door, what she saw was not what she had imagined: the three girls from the Jia family were being bullied and humiliated.

Instead, a cloud of white smoke rose in front of the hall, blocking the view.

The three girls were indeed standing in front of the hall. Even from the back, Tanchun was standing in the smoke, with her sleeves rolled up to reveal part of her arms, and her fists clenched.

"Crazy, you are really crazy!"

There was constant shouting and cursing in the hall. When the white smoke dissipated, Miaoyu realized that there was a maid standing in front of Tanchun. There was a red and purple lump on her head, and her face was covered with white ash, as if she had just crawled out of the ground.

After a series of heavy coughs, the nanny fell to the ground, covered her head, slapped the ground and stared at her legs, and cried, "Oh, my ancestor, look at this girl, she doesn't look like a girl at all. You knocked the incense altar on my head, I'm afraid my head is cracked now."

"Grandfather, you must make the decision for me. This girl was just bluffing. If she hadn't been in the Duke's account, how could she dare to challenge him in this hall? How could she not dare to let you examine her body?"

"She must have lost her chastity and brought disgrace upon the Jia family!"

"What a loyal old dog!"

Tanchun's face was filled with anger, and her voice suddenly became louder. "How many farms and shops of the Jia family have you embezzled? Your hands are so dirty, and you have the nerve to test the chastity of your master?"

"Jia Tanchun!"

Grandmother Jia hit Li Li's wooden crutch hard and said angrily, "Are you really going to rebel?"

Lai Ma crawled to Jia Mu's legs on her knees, her nose and tears mixed with incense ash, and her face turned into an opera singer. "Grandfather, my loyalty to the Jia family is witnessed by heaven and earth. You know it very well. How can you allow her to slander me like this?"

"The Lai family is what it is today because of our ancestors' compassion. Even if you are a slave, you shouldn't let the girl be humiliated in front of you. This is a slap in your face."

Grandmother Jia stood up angrily, and with the support of Yuanyang, she was about to go down and teach this rebellious young man a lesson herself.

But when he stood up and stepped down a stone step, he found that a stranger had broken into the hall.

Miaoyu quickly came to Tanchun, hugged her in her arms, gently wiped the dust from her head and cheeks, and asked softly, "Third sister, what are they going to do to you? Don't be afraid, the sisters are rushing over here, and they will definitely give you justice."

Seeing her family coming, Tanchun leaned into Miaoyu's arms. She had a stern face from beginning to end, but she could no longer hold back and sobbed, "Master Miaoyu, they suspect that I climbed into the Marquis's tent and said that I am an immoral whore. They want to check whether I am a virgin. This incense altar is used for this purpose."

"I have rarely even entered the Marquis' room. How can you slander me like this and destroy the Marquis' reputation? I cannot tolerate this humiliation!"

Anger immediately appeared between Miaoyu's brows. Compared with Tanchun, she was more genuine in her nature.

Looking at the incense altar, they are actually using it for such a shameful thing. Moreover, they are doing such shameful things in front of the Bodhisattva. This is even more intolerable.

Staring at the stage, Miaoyu looked directly at Grandmother Jia and asked, "What a ridiculous head of the household! She doesn't even know where we are!"

"A place for worshipping Buddha and cultivating purity is the place where you indulge your evil servants and humiliate your own descendants? After committing such evil deeds, you still want to cultivate your affinity with Buddha and accumulate virtues. Are you afraid that the gods and Buddhas in heaven will not see it?"

"This is such a blasphemous act. Your Jia family is prospering because of it. God is blind!"

Miaoyu did not insult Lady Jia directly, but instead used her status to belittle her from the perspective of practicing Buddhism, which was more effective.

The Jia family was able to set up a Buddhist temple in their mansion and donate incense to the Qingxu Temple and Tiekan Temple outside the city. They were believers in Buddhism and were afraid of being contaminated by the cause and effect of evil deeds, which would cause their moral character to suffer.

What's more, after hearing Miaoyu say that her virtue would bring disaster to the Jia family, Jia's mother became even more fearful and terrified at this time when Yuanchun was coming home to visit her parents.

Nanny Lai hurriedly tried to make amends, "Master, you shouldn't speak carelessly. How can you judge right and wrong based on her one-sided words?"

After taking a few deep breaths, Jia's mother calmed down and responded, "This place is just like what the young master said, it is not a noisy place. Tomorrow is a good day for the eldest daughter to return home to visit her parents. I don't want to argue with you anymore."

Hearing that the matter was going to be settled like this, the oppressed Lai Ma was certainly unwilling to accept it.

Although the Lai family has committed many faults, no one has ever brought them to light. If Tanchun were to start this, it would be hard to say how they would be held accountable in the future.

"Grandfather, she has disobeyed you like this, you can't just let her go. If the gossip in the hall today gets out, who will still respect your dignity? The two masters of the first and second houses will look down on you, Grandfather."

She cried while hugging Lady Jia's legs. Lady Jia frowned slightly and thought that what Lai Ma said made some sense.

No matter what, she couldn't lose face. After all, she had been rich and powerful all her life, and this face was what she wanted.

After taking a deep breath and raising her spirits, Grandmother Jia continued, "I, an old woman, can ignore other matters, but you, Tanchun, are disrespectful to your elders and are extremely treasonous. You should be whipped according to the family rules."

"Somebody come!"

At the command, the maids were about to take action, but a group of people really came to the door.

There was a loud sound of footsteps, and after entering the door, everyone stood beside Tanchun, surrounding her in the middle.

The little girls were all in their prime, each of them was very pretty, and they were dressed in colorful silks that made them look like flowers in full bloom, dazzling the eyes.

Even Lady Jia, who attached the most importance to appearance, couldn't help but hesitate for a moment. She didn't know when so many pretty girls suddenly appeared in the Jia family.

When I saw the girls consciously making way for the finale to appear, I realized that the leader of the group was Xue Baochai.

There was no doubt that these girls in front of him were all from the Duke Dingguo's Mansion.

"Third sister, how are you?"

Xue Baochai walked closer and looked her up and down.

Tanchun just shook her head, bit her lip and replied, "Sister Bao, I'm fine."

Looking around at Yingchun and Xichun, they seemed to be fine, so Xue Baochai secretly felt relieved.

After all, it was Lin Daiyu who asked her to stay here. Before she left, she also specifically reminded her to take good care of these sisters. If something happened after a while, she really would not be able to explain to the head lady in the mansion.

"What are you doing here? This is a family matter!"

Nanny Lai stood in front of Lady Jia, still acting like a loyal dog.

However, Xue Baochai narrowed her eyes and her expression gradually turned cold.

He did not bother to retort first, but only spoke angrily after he understood the situation from Miaoyu.

Compared to Tanchun's resistance, Xue Baochai was even less likely to be provoked. She went straight to the point as soon as she opened her mouth and said, "The old lady wants to verify the innocence of the third sister?" Grandmother Jia frowned, "So what?"

Xue Baochai sneered, "Does the Jia family have the right to investigate other people's innocence?"

This indifferent remark seemed to be more reasonable than Miaoyu's previous accusation, and it immediately made Jia's mother dizzy. She lost her balance and fell back into the armchair.

It is not necessarily bad words that are the most hurtful. What Xue Baochai said can be interpreted in thousands of ways. The key lies in how the person who is mentioned understands it.

Of course, Grandmother Jia felt guilty, as she had done many things that made her feel guilty.

At this moment, cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

"Impossible, this is impossible. Could it be that His Majesty is going to bring up the past again? Didn't the court say long ago that there would be no further accountability? Didn't Yue Ling really confess everything when he interrogated the eldest wife? He wouldn't be that stupid!"

Lai Ma hurried to Jia's side and whispered, "Grandma, please don't be fooled by this girl's appearance. What big thing can she know?"

Although Nanny Lai didn't know why Lady Jia's momentum suddenly weakened a lot, and she couldn't hide her panic, she was still kindly reminding her as a servant.

"This girl from the Xue family is very famous in the capital for her ability to win people's hearts. She follows Duke Dingguo around the country and is very scheming. The old ancestor must not be deceived by her."

Grandmother Jia looked up at Nanny Lai, nodded seriously, and said, "What you said makes sense."

Looking at Xue Baochai again, Jia's mother also calmed down her breathing and replied, "You outsiders don't have to worry about the affairs of the mansion. Tomorrow, the imperial concubine will return home to visit her relatives, and you will not be allowed to talk nonsense!"

"Old lady, do you want to drive us away?"

Grandmother Jia nodded without comment.

Xue Baochai snorted coldly and said, "We didn't come here willingly in the first place. If it weren't for the sincere invitation from the First and Second Madams, Sister Lin would not have given us this honor. Let's go!"

The young girls supported Sanchun on both sides and were about to go out when Mrs. Wang arrived late and blocked their way.

"Girls, where are you going?"

Mrs. Wang looked very embarrassed. She had obviously arranged everything long ago, and she didn't know what had happened now.

Xue Baochai glanced into the hall and said, "Aunt has come at the right time. Aunt and Sister Lin had previously discussed that the young ladies would perform music and singing, and Master Miaoyu would perform the ritual. Are they all canceled now? The old lady is trying to get us to leave. In order not to delay the Empress's visit, Aunt should find someone else as soon as possible!"

It was almost nightfall, and where could Mrs. Wang find a suitable candidate?

With an embarrassed smile on her face, Mrs. Wang had no choice but to comfort the girls first, and then went to Lady Jia's side in the hall.

"Grandfather, tomorrow is a big day for the Jia family, so you can't get angry now. They are all staying to host the family banquet tomorrow, and there is no better choice now. Grandfather, even if you don't think about other things, you can't disturb the eldest daughter's visit, right?"

Now Lady Jia's situation in the mansion is very bad. Although the people in the inner chambers still respect her on the surface, she actually doesn't have much money in her hands anymore, and even some of her own money has been cheated out of her.

From then on, everyone in the palace gradually followed Mrs. Wang's lead.

Needless to say, her two sons seemed to have broken off ties with her and seldom interacted with her.

If Yuanchun had not returned home to support her, it would have been very difficult for her to return to Rongqingtang and call the shots again.

"We can't disrupt the big event."

At this moment, Jia Mu was still able to distinguish the pros and cons. She held back her anger and said, "Let them go out and don't disturb my peace!"

Mrs. Wang smiled awkwardly and came to Xue Baochai again, "Bao girl, please stay here tonight for your aunt's sake."

Of course Xue Baochai had to stay, as they still had things to do.

Looking at Sanchun in the girls' arms, her body trembling with anger, it was even clearer that now was the time to help Sanchun break with the Jia family.

"Okay, it's fine for you to stay, but I have to remind you, old lady."

After sparing Mrs. Wang, Xue Baochai looked at Lady Jia again.

"If you don't want others to know, then you better not do it yourself. Old lady, you'd better take care of it yourself!"

After saying this, Xue Baochai led the other girls away, and Mrs. Wang apologized to Lady Jia on behalf of everyone else before leaving.

In front of the hall, only Lady Jia's trusted maid and Nanny Lai were left.

"Grandfather, this girl must be deliberately trying to make things difficult for you. The eldest daughter is about to return home, and as a noble concubine, who can not give her face? Moreover, the eldest daughter was raised by the ancestor, and she has the closest relationship with the ancestor."

"These girls can only act recklessly for one more day. After seeing the scene of my Jia family tomorrow, they will not dare to speak so arrogantly again."

Grandmother Jia remained silent, always thinking that Xue Baochai's words had a deeper meaning.

Lai Ma was still talking eloquently, "Grandfather, I have something to say but I don't know whether I should say it or not."

Grandmother Jia came back to her senses and frowned, "Well, now that everyone has left, is there anything else to say?"

Nanny Lai nodded and said, "Now the old ancestor has lost his former dignity in the mansion, all because of Yue Ling who has repeatedly insulted the old ancestor. If it weren't for him, the girl from the Lin family, the girl from the Xue family, and the two masters from the first and second houses would never dare to disrespect the old ancestor."

"The ancestor is a first-class imperial edict, and his status is very respected. Now that he has lost some of his power, the ancestor must find a way to make up for it."

"To make up for it?"

"That's right. When the Imperial Concubine returns to visit her family tomorrow, the old ancestor will stay in this Buddhist temple and wait for the Imperial Concubine to invite him. First, to show the Empress how the eldest and second masters treat the old ancestor harshly. Second, to use the Empress's prestige to boost the old ancestor's reputation."

Grandmother Jia had the same idea as Nanny Lai. After she entered the Buddhist temple, she decided not to leave easily.

Anyway, her situation is not good. Others are the ones who are labeled as unfilial, which puts her under greater pressure.

"That's how it should be."

Looking at the disheveled Lai Ma, Grandmother Jia sighed and said earnestly, "You are almost eighty years old, and you have suffered all day's injustice from me. Go back and rest first."

Nanny Lai was deeply moved. "How can I feel wronged when working for the ancestor? Please take a rest, ancestor. I am leaving now."

After watching Nanny Lai go away, Jia Mu suddenly looked at Yuanyang beside her and said, "Go to your room and see if the small box I asked you to put in the wooden cabinet is still there?"

"Yes……"

(End of this chapter)